1. Field of Invention
The present invention generally relates to determining load within a wireless telecommunication network. More specifically, the present invention discloses a system and method for dynamically determining subscriber load on a microcell within a cell using a control or feedback loop.
2. Background
As the number of people using cellular networks increases, so does the need to optimize these networks to increase capacity and quality. One important factor in optimizing these networks is determining and controlling the subscriber load within the network. Systems and techniques for determining load at the cell level are known in the art, however, when the cell is divided into simulcasting "microcells," the determination of load on each microcell becomes much more difficult. This difficulty arises because the signals from all the simulcasting microcells of a cell are combined at the cell's base station rendering traditional load measurements techniques, such as received signal strength (RSSI), ineffective. One alternative involves adding dedicated circuitry and communication channels to each microcell to determine subscriber load. Such an approach, however, increases the system's cost and complexity, which should be avoided. Therefore, a need exists for determining microcell load without the cost and complexity of additional circuitry. The present invention fulfills this need among others.